Lo scibile matematico si espande a un ritmo vertiginoso. Nel corso degli ultimi cinquant'anni sono stati dimostrati piu teoremi che nei precedenti millenni della storia umana. Per illustrare la ricchezza della matematica del Novecento, il presente volume porta sulla ribalta alcuni dei protagonisti di questa straordinaria impresa intellettuale, che ha messo a nostra disposizione nuovi e potenti strumenti per indagare la realta che ci circonda.

Presentando matematici famosi accanto ad altri meno noti al grande pubblico - da Hilbert a Godel, da Turing a Nash, da De Giorgi a Wiles - i ritratti raccolti in questo volume ci presentano personaggi dal forte carisma personale, dai vasti interessi culturali, appassionati nel difendere l'importanza delle proprie ricerche, sensibili alla bellezza, attenti ai problemi sociali e politici del loro tempo.

Ne risulta un affresco che documenta la centralita della matematica nella cultura, non solo scientifica ma anche filosofica, artistica e letteraria, del nostro tempo, in un continuo gioco di scambi e di rimandi, di corrispondenze e di suggestioni.

The book is intended for people (graduates, researchers, but also undergraduates with a good mathematical background) involved in the study of (static) optimization problems (in finite-dimensional spaces). It contains a lot of material, from basic tools of convex analysis to optimality conditions for smooth optimization problems, for non smooth optimization problems and for vector optimization problems.
The development of the subjects are self-contained and the bibliographical references are usually treated in different books (only a few books on optimization theory deal also with vector problems), so the book can be a starting point for further readings in a more specialized literature.
Assuming only a good (even if not advanced) knowledge of mathematical analysis and linear algebra, this book presents various aspects of the mathematical theory in optimization problems. The treatment is performed in finite-dimensional spaces and with no regard to algorithmic questions. After two chapters concerning, respectively, introductory subjects and basic tools and concepts of convex analysis, the book treats extensively mathematical programming problems in the smmoth case, in the nonsmooth case and finally vector optimization problems.
- Self-contained
- Clear style and results are either proved or stated precisely with adequate references
- The authors have several years experience in this field
- Several subjects (some of them non usual in books of this kind) in one single book, including nonsmooth optimization and vector optimization problems
- Useful long references list at the end of each chapter